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Charles Hunter Associates has a very useful Facebook page which will most certainly come in handy.

It posts all of our very latest jobs, as well as our latest news stories and blog posts.  To ensure you keep in the loop with everything that is going on both with regards to jobs and sector updates, we highly recommend you ‘Like’ our Facebook page.  Just click HERE to navigate to our page.

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Today on Community Care an anonymous Social Worker voices their concerns that David Cameron’s Troubled Families scheme risks branding families and piling more work on overstretched social workers.

The troubled families scheme, launched by Prime Minister David Cameron last year, are paying councils to work with families that face multiple problems including unemployment, low school attendance and crime and anti-social behaviour. However some would disagree; in trying to help families by finding work or getting them back into schools, do you address the underlying issues? Is this scheme just a short term fix? And is it placing more and more of a strain on the council as we face budget cuts?

The troubled families scheme has undoubtedly recognised the importance of effective evaluation to help people, and is working hard with councils to put this in place.  If this is done well, we can all agree it could revolutionise our understanding of how best to turn around these families for good!

A belated Happy New Year to everyone!  We have see a really positive start to the new year with a 30% increase in job activity from our clients.  Hopefully it is a continued sign that the jobs market within Social Work is healthier.

Things are settling down following the HCPC registration flurry which from our side, means everyone is compliant, however news from the HCPC showed that 8,400 social workers did not register.  With a percentage of these being those who are likely to have left the profession, those still practicing will have to have ceased doing so.

We also are to experience a change (yet again) with the newly formed Disclosure and Barring Service which has replaced the CRB.  Disclosures are due to become portable from March.  However, we are still awaiting news on how this portability will work and at what cost.  It is encouraging to see that going forward, compliance checks are set to take much less time.  This is welcome news from everyone – clients and candidates included.

At Charles Hunter Associates we continue to grow, and are introducing new geographical areas throughout 2013 where we will be able to provide work to our candidates.  We also have an ever increasingly successful permanent recruitment division which has placed countless social work professionals into employment over the last 6 months.

I wish everyone a prosperous 2013 and look forward to working with you throughout the next 12 months.

Best Wishes

Jonathan Wadsworth – Managing Director

Ministers press ahead with plans to transfer social care fund’s budget to councils and reject calls to protect care packages for ILF users.  See the article in Community Care for further details.  Click Here

The HCPC have announced that Social Workers now have until the 2nd January to ensure their registration is renewed.  A big thank you is due to all of our locum Social Workers who ensured that their renewals were completed in plenty of time and before the original 30th November Deadline.

For anyone who has not renewed their registration as yet, please ensure this is one by the 2nd January 2013.  Up until then you are still able to practice.  Further information can be found by clicking here

Community Care has today announced that a Social enterprise offering “clinically informed practice” through the medium of education, fostering and residential care is offering free training events around the UK.  To read more information and find out how you could attend one of these courses you can view this link.

Time is running out for renewal – all Social Workers are urged to renew now without delay.  Online renewal is easy with the HCPC and can be completed in minutes.  Visit here for more information.